Peter Costello remarked about Muslims, indirectly considering their faith “un-Australian”.
But what are Australian values, and what on earth does "un-Australian" actually mean?
As an Australian born citizen I have grown up loving this country. It has provided me with the career opportunity I have always been looking for; it has provided my family with protection; it has given me the right to disagree with whatever I want to disagree on, and has given me the freedom to believe what I choose to believe in.
I choose to believe in Islam. I have found it to be the fundamental reason for living life. This does not deter me from being Australian. On the contrary, it improves my ability to be more proactive as an Australian citizen. It has helped me contribute more towards this country because it demands an urgency to participate in my society
Islam has been able to give me the most important values in building up my character, my dignity and my self-respect.
These values are in no way contradictory to the social aspects found in Australian society and the concept of multiculturalism that has become more popular over the last few decades.
So the question that would naturally arise from this argument would be what then are Australian values regarding multiculturalism?
Since my ancestors were migrants, I have a commonality with the majority of Australians. Whether my ancestors came 20 years ago, or 200 years ago, we share the same basic connection.
Over the years the word “Australian” no longer refers to the people whose ancestors migrated with the First Fleet, rather to anyone whose ancestors migrated here by invitation and earned the right to become citizens.
Therefore, many that feel they have a right to say “go back to your own country” don't realise that this statement is no longer plausible, especially because this is in fact my own country.
If John Howard and Peter Costello do not realise this, then their own lack of embracing such an Australian value has made them fall into the trap of being “un-Australian”.
As a Muslims by faith and an Australian by nationality, I strongly believe in multiculturalism. It has taught me tolerance for all kinds of cultures and religions.
Moreover, in reference to John Howards’s remarks accusing
Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a Muslim, I have been taught to have the utmost respect for women. I am taught that family values are regarded one of the highest priorities in life. We tend to keep ourselves and our women away from environments that could provoke and threaten their self esteem and dignity. This does not necessarily mean that we fail to "integrate" with Australian society, rather that we refuse to "assimilate" with the majority of the population. There is no need for us to forget our identity and our beliefs in order to "fit in".
We also encourage education and provide protection for our women so that they benefit from their basic human rights. They are our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters.
There is, however, a significantly high percentage of people in Australia that believe they are in a position to preach such an ethical view towards women.
Today, with the most popular form of advertisement being the exploitation of women, we find more and more billboards with women completely exposed sitting in chocolate ice-cream cones being treated like byproducts; while other women show intimacy as they wash the latest cars; as well as an evident lack of censorship when we are constantly presented with explicit sexual references found on most of our common free-to-air TV shows during the peak hours of the day. Our children grow up in an environment where there is no choice but to be exposed to such indecencies.
People are encouraged to degrade and disrespect their own values by adhering to a lack of dignity.
As an Australian, I fail to recognise such a value that does not conform to the “Australian-way” stipulated in respecting our people in our society.
Being Muslim has made me the equivalent of the modern-day "feminist" as all Muslim men are encouraged to be.
It is clearly unacceptable that Howard would talk about our opinion on women, let alone mentioning our "jihadist" views.
On this note, and regarding these "jihadist" views, one could also question Howard and Costello's Australian values towards violence.
Australia, well known for being a peaceful countr,y has leaders who are appointed with the responsibility of setting a good example for the Australian community. Yet those very leaders send our own troops halfway across the world to a country we barely even know and force a people we’ve never met to conform to a constitution they know nothing about whether they like it or not.
As an Australian, I find this extremely un-Australian.
Ultimately, there are many Muslims that can be more eligible for the banner of being "Australian" over many others who self-appoint themselves with that status by default.
Many people complain about the "growing gap that continually bridges Muslims and the rest of Australian society".
That gap will only grow larger when Muslims realise that rather than being accepted for integrating into Australian society, they are rejected because they refuse to be part of Australian assimilation.
"Anyone who believed Islamic sharia law could co-exist with Australian law should move to a country where they felt more comfortable...
Muslim leaders should be pledging themselves and their followers to Australian values...
Pledge themselves unequivocally to these values first of all, and then call on their followers to pledge themselves unequivocally to these values".[http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pm-backs-muslim-comments/2006/02/24/1140670238222.html]
But what are Australian values, and what on earth does "un-Australian" actually mean?
As an Australian born citizen I have grown up loving this country. It has provided me with the career opportunity I have always been looking for; it has provided my family with protection; it has given me the right to disagree with whatever I want to disagree on, and has given me the freedom to believe what I choose to believe in.
I choose to believe in Islam. I have found it to be the fundamental reason for living life. This does not deter me from being Australian. On the contrary, it improves my ability to be more proactive as an Australian citizen. It has helped me contribute more towards this country because it demands an urgency to participate in my society
Islam has been able to give me the most important values in building up my character, my dignity and my self-respect.
These values are in no way contradictory to the social aspects found in Australian society and the concept of multiculturalism that has become more popular over the last few decades.
So the question that would naturally arise from this argument would be what then are Australian values regarding multiculturalism?
“...a policy developed in the '70s by Australian governments looking for a way of replacing assimilation policies. It was based on the belief that society would work better if people felt their cultural beliefs were respected and that they did not have to abandon their values to be considered good Australians.”[http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rp/2010-11/11rp06.pdf]
Since my ancestors were migrants, I have a commonality with the majority of Australians. Whether my ancestors came 20 years ago, or 200 years ago, we share the same basic connection.
Over the years the word “Australian” no longer refers to the people whose ancestors migrated with the First Fleet, rather to anyone whose ancestors migrated here by invitation and earned the right to become citizens.
Therefore, many that feel they have a right to say “go back to your own country” don't realise that this statement is no longer plausible, especially because this is in fact my own country.
If John Howard and Peter Costello do not realise this, then their own lack of embracing such an Australian value has made them fall into the trap of being “un-Australian”.
As a Muslims by faith and an Australian by nationality, I strongly believe in multiculturalism. It has taught me tolerance for all kinds of cultures and religions.
Moreover, in reference to John Howards’s remarks accusing
“…some Muslims of bringing jihadist views and opinions about women that did not fit in Australian society.”[http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/islam-comments-a-cheap-shot/2006/02/24/1140670236214.html]
Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a Muslim, I have been taught to have the utmost respect for women. I am taught that family values are regarded one of the highest priorities in life. We tend to keep ourselves and our women away from environments that could provoke and threaten their self esteem and dignity. This does not necessarily mean that we fail to "integrate" with Australian society, rather that we refuse to "assimilate" with the majority of the population. There is no need for us to forget our identity and our beliefs in order to "fit in".
We also encourage education and provide protection for our women so that they benefit from their basic human rights. They are our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters.
There is, however, a significantly high percentage of people in Australia that believe they are in a position to preach such an ethical view towards women.
Today, with the most popular form of advertisement being the exploitation of women, we find more and more billboards with women completely exposed sitting in chocolate ice-cream cones being treated like byproducts; while other women show intimacy as they wash the latest cars; as well as an evident lack of censorship when we are constantly presented with explicit sexual references found on most of our common free-to-air TV shows during the peak hours of the day. Our children grow up in an environment where there is no choice but to be exposed to such indecencies.
People are encouraged to degrade and disrespect their own values by adhering to a lack of dignity.
As an Australian, I fail to recognise such a value that does not conform to the “Australian-way” stipulated in respecting our people in our society.
Being Muslim has made me the equivalent of the modern-day "feminist" as all Muslim men are encouraged to be.
It is clearly unacceptable that Howard would talk about our opinion on women, let alone mentioning our "jihadist" views.
On this note, and regarding these "jihadist" views, one could also question Howard and Costello's Australian values towards violence.
Australia, well known for being a peaceful countr,y has leaders who are appointed with the responsibility of setting a good example for the Australian community. Yet those very leaders send our own troops halfway across the world to a country we barely even know and force a people we’ve never met to conform to a constitution they know nothing about whether they like it or not.
As an Australian, I find this extremely un-Australian.
Ultimately, there are many Muslims that can be more eligible for the banner of being "Australian" over many others who self-appoint themselves with that status by default.
Many people complain about the "growing gap that continually bridges Muslims and the rest of Australian society".
That gap will only grow larger when Muslims realise that rather than being accepted for integrating into Australian society, they are rejected because they refuse to be part of Australian assimilation.
